The Phoenix Suns have not enjoyed the start to the season that they would have hoped for, but one quiet constant as Head Coach Jordan Ott searches for a way to get the best out of this roster has been Dillon Brooks. He continues to battle hard every night and is usually getting tossed from a game or issued a flagrant foul in the process. Some of which we understand more than others.
Value of Brooks continues to trend upwards as Suns struggle
But if the Suns are going to struggle to make the postseason this year, and with Brooks having signed a three-year, $73 million extension this offseason, plenty of competitive teams are going to look to the veteran as a player who could get them over the hump. Already, he has received some admiring glances from our friends over at Rip City Project on the FanSided network, and it is not hard to understand why.
Brooks proved beyond a doubt last season that he can raise the floor of a roster, and he is capable of giving any team he plays for 20 points each night. He was the best player in a playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder last time out, and that was while counting Devin Booker as a teammate.
His former employers in the Houston Rockets might have figured it out to start this season, but without Brooks last year, they massively underperformed. The defensive end is where he will always make his name, and even though he has been on the wrong side of the referees so far this campaign, he relishes trying to lock down elite scorers like few others.
Perhaps best of all, from the perspective of a potential buyer, the Suns have no clear direction and are crying out for draft capital to make their future appear less bleak. Brooks couldn't be gotten at a knockdown price, but preying on the Suns when their starting lineup is in dire need of a change to land Brooks would appear to be a smart strategy.
Brooks still worth more to Phoenix than any other team
Although Brooks would be a clear upgrade for many rivals at the forward position, his importance to The Valley remains higher than it would be anywhere else in the league. He has found a home where he can be himself and play with the level of aggression that he wants to, with the Suns taking on that identity themselves last season.
That might not have been the case so far in 2026-27, but there is still plenty of time for this roster to get back to its snarling best. With owner Mat Ishbia claiming Booker will never be traded, and with the value of Miles Bridges as low as it has ever been, Brooks is obviously the Suns' most realistically available trade target. Despite this, he still shouldn't be made available. For now.
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